Forgotten Souls
by Urikol
Summary: Jiang Wei attends a school for only those with a special talent, or so that is what they say... Though he will soon find that this college is not just another place to earn a diploma...
1. Welcome to the Three Kingdoms College

_This is the school I've heard so much about… The school only the most talented of students may enter. Somehow, with my current grades and application I had sent, I made it in. I won't mess this up…_

Jiang Wei thought to himself deeply as he stepped off the plane and headed towards the school. He couldn't help but stare in awe at the building, it was like a castle separated into three parts. On the right, a red flag stood on the top of the building, in the middle was a blue flag, and to the left was a green flag. Written on them, red said Wu, Blue said Wei, and Green said Shu. Jiang Wei didn't quite understand the names, perhaps they were randomly chosen, but that was the least of his concerns at the time. The stress he felt originally came from his constant fear of disappointing his teacher. After sending the application, he received a letter from the Wei side of the school suggesting he'd learn from them, but he had also received a much more convincing letter from one teacher, this teacher who goes by the name of Zhuge Liang. Jiang Wei didn't know anything about any of the teachers, but somehow he felt the need to know more about this Zhuge Liang guy.

He stopped in front of the doors to the school feeling a little uneasy, being accepted to this school was a real honour for many in all of the land. It was a big step for Jiang Wei, and in the back of his head, he had vowed to do just as well, if not, exceed the teachers expectations.

"Heeeey there!" Came a voice from behind before Jiang Wei was suddenly pulled into a hug by a strong arm, "Ah, you must be a new student also, I'm Sima Zhao, I'm new to." The man smiled cheerfully.

Jiang Wei blinked once staring up at the young man, not being so much of a social butterfly as this guy seemed to be, he felt just a tad nervous.

"Oh, yes I am new here… I'm Jiang Wei." He replied as he took Sima Zhao's arm off him, "You're new too?"

"That's what I said, Yup!" Sima Zhao looked back and called out, "Come on Ling Tong, you lazy plug!" He laughed.

Jiang Wei glanced back to see a young man just taking his sweet time heading towards the school, the man had a more calm smile on his face.

"Yeah yeah, I'm coming" He said as he caught up to his friend, he paused as he studied Jiang Wei head to toe, "Heh, so you're the new green team student, I'm in red, and ironically enough, Sima Zhao is in blue."

"Yup!" Sima Zhao smiled, "This could actually be an awkward friendship, but hey! It works for me."

Jiang Wei, though as small as it was, smiled a somewhat shy smile. The two young men seemed like nice people, easy to get along with.

"We should probably head to class soon, I don't want to be late on my first day" Jiang Wei said.

Sima Zhao chuckled softly and scratched his cheek showing he was a bit nervous about the thought of being late, "Yeah, my father is the main teacher of Wei… and if he doesn't get on my case about my 'shenanigans' my brother will"

Ling Tong nodded in agreement, "Yeah, well we should meet again. Cafeteria at lunch break, alright?"

Jiang Wei nodded, the boys then went separate ways as they headed to their class rooms.

From what Jiang Wei knew, each area was called a 'kingdom'. They only had one class for each kingdom. The gym however, was for special events only.

Jiang Wei, once in front of the classroom door, sighed silently then opened the door enough to peek in. To his relief, no one was there, which meant he wasn't late, he was not familiar with the sound of the bell seeing as each school had a different sound in their 'to class' bells. So he decided to wait until he heard it, to see when the students would come pouring in. He looked over at the board, there it showed him where he and other students were to be seated, Jiang Wei was in the second row to the left, three seats down. He walked over to his seat and sat down, but just as he did the bell rang. The sound of it was calm but attention grabbing, enough to get the attention of the students. He half stared at his desk just waiting for students enter the room, when he heard someone enter the classroom. He did not look up to see who it was though.

"Hey, are you alright?" came a voice from in front of him.

Jiang Wei looked up to see a young man with gentle eyes smiling softly at him.

"Yes… I'm fine, thank you." Jiang Wei replied, a little amazed by how kind this man appeared, it could fool anyone to thinking he was nice, that is, if he was cruel at all, but that was not the case at all.

"Well then, that's a relief." The man placed a hand on his own chest in a proper manner to introduce himself, "I am Zhao Yun, it's a pleasure to meet you mister…" He trailed off, waiting for Jiang Wei to speak next.

"…Jiang Wei" Jiang Wei said a little too shyly.

Zhao Yun's smile turned all the more friendly, "Jiang Wei, so you're the new student for Shu is that correct? Heh, you must be pretty good at whatever it is you do to have gotten here."

Jiang Wei nodded, "I am new here, yes… But I don't believe I'm that good."

"Modest as well I see. Yes, I'm sure you'll do just fine in Shu" Zhao Yun said, but he paused and stared off for a bit in deep thought soon after, "…Strange…" He muttered.

"Strange?" Jiang Wei blinked in confusion.

Zhao Yun looked back at Jiang Wei with a reassuring smile.

"Nothing, It just felt as if I've said that before, to you, somehow"

"That is strange, I guess"

Soon enough, more students poured into the classroom, and took their seats. Zhao Yun waved to Jiang Wei before taking his seat too. Was everyone in this school so friendly? It seemed so unnatural compared to how the rest of the world was, supposedly when looked at with negative eyes.

Jiang Wei tried not to put too much thought into it however, he had to focus on his work, whatever the teacher had in mind for his students.

Just then, the teacher entered the classroom, he stood in front of the class, his eyes scanned the room, studying each face as if he could remember them all easily for a lifetime just by looking at them for this one moment. His eyes then set on Jiang Wei.

"Class…" He finally spoke, "We have a new student" He placed one hand behind his back, and raised the other before giving a gesture with one finger for Jiang Wei to step up in front of the classroom.

Jiang Wei stood and walked to the front of the classroom, then turned to face them all, managing to keep a straight face.

"Introduce yourself…" The teacher said.

Jiang Wei nodded, "I am Jiang Wei… It's a pleasure to meet you all."

The teacher slowly nodded then looked back to the class once again.

"You may take your seat now, Jiang Wei" He said, his tone sounding calm.

"Yes sir" Jiang Wei replied before walking back and taking his seat again.

The teacher, eyes on Jiang Wei once more, spoke, "Seeing as you are new it's only proper that I introduce myself to you in return. I am Zhuge Liang, but in this school, you will not address me as mister. You, like everyone else, will call me Master Zhuge Liang… is that understood, Jiang Wei?"

"Yes, master Zhuge Liang…"

Zhuge Liang nodded before heading to his desk. Jiang Wei felt a little strange having to call someone master, but at the same time he felt it an honour somehow to be this man's student.

Zhuge Liang handed out each student just one sheet of paper, to the students however, one sheet was enough. The paper had only ten questions on it, but all ten of them were quite hard to answer, for them anyway.

Zhuge Liang, once he had finished handing out the sheets, stood in the front of the classroom.

"You may begin…" He said.

This was odd, he hadn't even taught the students anything yet and he expected them all to answer these questions? No, this was a test of intellect, Jiang Wei knew this. So he began his first test.

:::

The minutes flew by quickly as Jiang Wei answered each question, however he found he didn't have to put much effort into this test as he already knew the answers to these questions. It didn't take him long to finish at all.

"Time… Hand in your work" Zhuge Liang said.

Some students groaned not having finished every question in time as they handed their work in.

Zhuge Liang looked over each sheet with the usual un-impressed look on his face. Some may see him as distant and cold, un-approachable… But Jiang Wei, he found the man to be more, mysterious and enchanting. As Zhuge Liang looked over each sheet, he finally made it to Jiang Wei's, where he paused. Eyebrow raised, he set the other ones down and stared at Jiang Wei's paper, then smiled just a little.

"Hmm…" Was all he said before standing and looking at Jiang Wei, still holding his paper, "Are these questions too simple for you Jiang Wei?"

The class gave Jiang Wei either a surprised or awkward glance, curious to know his answer.

Jiang Wei felt the eyes on him, but he looked up at his teacher and answered honestly.

"I… suppose." His modesty got the better of him again, not able to be fully honest with himself.

Zhuge Liang closed his eyes, his smile remained on his face, he opened his eyes again and nodded slowly.

"I understand" He said softly, "Then I will be sure to give you more of a challenge in the next test."


	2. A new motivation

The class seemed as if it lasted longer than it really was. As soon as the bell rang, Jiang Wei followed the rest of the students out of the classroom, before making his way to the cafeteria where Sima Zhao and Ling Tong said they'd meet him. Surely enough there they were, but also they seemed to have started a conversation with a girl wearing green… obviously from Shu. Jiang Wei walked up to them, eyes mostly on the girl, wondering if she was as friendly as she appeared.

The girl noticed Jiang Wei in the corner of her eye as she turned to face him and smiled.

"Hi! You're Jiang Wei, the new guy in my class, huh? I'm Bao Sanniang, but everyone just calls me Bao. If you guys need anything just ask me. I'll tell you everything I know about this school and the teachers, students and principles!"

Jiang Wei raised an eyebrow as he tilted his head slightly at the word 'Principles'.

"There's more than one principle?" Jiang Wei asked.

"Oh, yes! One for each kingdom, actually. We refer to them as 'Lord' though. Sun Jian is in charge of Wu, Cao Cao for Wei, and Liu Bei for us! Shu! Heh, Liu Bei is so nice though, really kind."

Jiang Wei smiled gently, "Everyone in Shu seems kind to me"

"You got lucky then" Sima Zhao cut in, "Most people in Wei are cold as ice if you know what I mean"

Ling Tong, already appearing to be impatient enough as it is, placed his hands on Jiang Wei's and Sima Zhao's shoulders and gave them an even more impatient look.

"So…" He said, "Are we going to eat before we have to go back to our classes, or just stand here and starve?"

Bao gave him an apologetic smile, "Oh sorry, that was my fault I kept you three…"

"It's alright" Jiang Wei said, "Actually, it would be nice if you joined us"

"Really!?" Bao asked excitedly, "I'd love to! Thanks!"

Sima Zhao patted Jiang Wei's back and chuckled, "Well, and here I thought you were the anti-social shy type… Anyway, let's go eat."

Ling Tong was the last to head to the buffet table, he stared down at the food a little impressed by how delicious it all looked.

"Heh, I don't think I can decide" He chuckled, "Ah, I'll just take some chicken wings"

Just as Ling Tong was about to touch a wing, another hand immediately snatched it away. Ling Tong stared at where the wing once was not quite knowing what just happened before looking up to see a young man, but from his appearance appearing to be a bit older than he, ripping the wing apart with his teeth as he ate it in a more barbaric looking manner.

"Geez, I didn't know they allowed ill-mannered barbarians in this school too…" Ling Tong frowned.

The man smirked at Ling Tong, swallowing first before he spoke, "Hey Hey! No need to be rude here."

"Oh, I'm being rude…?" Ling Tong folded his arms as he glared at the smug man, "I'm sorry I wasn't the one who stole that wing"

"Yikes, you certainly have a lady like temper, Ah, I'm Gan Ning by the way"

"Please, ask me if I care…"

Ling Tong took some extra wings and put them on his plate before turning to walk away, only to find Gan Ning was suddenly in front of him, he almost jumped in surprise, eyes grown, before narrowing them once again staring daggers at Gan Ning.

"Do you mind…?" Ling Tong asked, pouting slightly.

Gan Ning smirked and leaned his elbow against the wall, his head resting on his hand, the other hand on his hip and one eyebrow raised as he gave Ling Tong another smug look.

"Nope." He replied teasily.

Ling Tong, feeling a strong urge to strike this guy in the gut, ignored the feeling for a fear of being suspended from school as he walked past him and sat down at the lunch table where his friends were waiting.

He sighed as he sat down. Sima Zhao blinked as he stared at Ling Tong's angered expression.

"What's wrong, they didn't have any of your favourites?"

"No…" Ling Tong answered grumpily, "I just met the definition of 'vulgar' on the way here is all"

"I don't know what vulgar means but I'm well aware it was an insult to me" Came Gan Ning's voice from beside Ling Tong.

Ling Tong glanced over at him and groaned in disappointment before glaring sharply at him.

"Uh oh~" Bao giggled, "Looks like you have the predator on your tail Ling Tong."

Ling Tong blinked once, staring both worriedly and curiously at Bao.

"Predator…?"

"Yup! Gan Ning is what everyone calls 'The Predator' here. Cause well, he always finds a new cutie to prey on for…" She paused for a moment, "…You know…"

Both eyes grown to their fullest, Ling Tong stared in shock before looking at Gan Ning. Gan Ning grinned before making kissy sounds to tease him further. Ling Tong shook his head then placed his hand on Gan Ning's face and pushed him off his chair causing Gan Ning to fall on the floor making a loud "Ack!" sound.

"Well, that's just swell…" Ling Tong grumbled, placing his face in his hands.

Gan Ning got back up and sat again in his seat, he watched Ling Tong, before his eyes moved down to look at his food.

"You gonna eat that…?" He asked.

Ling Tong could only shudder in response.

:::

Soon after the bell rang the students made their way back to their classrooms, Sima Zhao and Ling Tong waved back at Jiang Wei and Bao before heading back to class, followed by a rather persistent Gan Ning, following after Ling Tong seeing as he too was in Wu.

Once Jiang Wei and Bao entered the classroom, naturally the first person they saw was Zhao Yun already sitting at his desk. He smiled at them both and waved.

"Hello again, Jiang Wei… and hello to you too Bao."

Bao smiled back and walked over to her seat, which was right behind Jiang Wei and next to Zhao Yun's.

"Hi!" She said cheerfully before looking back at Jiang Wei who had also sat down at his desk, "So Jiang Wei, you ready for Zhuge Liang to throw some tough questions at you, usually he hands out two test papers with different questions every new beginning to the school year… but for you yours is going to be real different, and much harder from the way you seemed to impress him earlier."

"Yes" Zhao Yun nodded, "Actually, I have never seen him smile like that about anyone's work, maybe if you're lucky you'll become his apprentice. Though, that is optional."

"…Apprentice?" Jiang Wei asked.

"Yeah!" Bao answered, "In this school all the teachers you must refer to as master, and if you impress them enough, you can be their successor, it's really quite an honour. However when it comes to Zhuge Liang, not once, ever… Has he been impressed enough to ask someone to succeed him. He is the smartest, most wise teacher in the entire school, nay country… maybe even the world."

Zhao Yun chuckled lightly, "Yes, Lu Xun even though he belongs to Wu has tried to impress him before, unfortunately he didn't manage to impress him enough"

"Lu Xun? What is he like?" Jiang Wei asked as he leaned on the back of his chair listening attentively.

Zhao Yun took a deep but calm breath, "Lu Xun is what everyone here calls the 'Pyro Maniac"…for, reasons you may someday find out, don't get me wrong he is a good guy, he just, well… I suppose has some issues with being looked down at…"

Before the conversation could carry on any longer more students entered the classroom and took their seats, most of them chatting away at what happened at lunch or what they had planned for after school hours. Jiang Wei turned to sit in his chair properly, ready for class to start.

Zhuge Liang was last to enter the classroom, obviously never first. From what Jiang Wei was seeing from this it was either show up in class before the teacher, or don't show up at all, seeing as he locked the door soon after entering the room. It may seem harsh to most, but to Jiang Wei it was a smart idea, to keep students from missing out on class.

Zhuge Liang faced the class, holding the second set of test papers, he handed them out, keeping his usual calm expression. The man seemed constantly collected. It was almost as if he was either always at peace or always so… sad. More of a hidden sadness though.

Once Zhuge Liang had finished handing out the test papers, he walked back to the front of the class and turned once again to face them.

"You may start." He said.

Almost immediately everyone started either writing or trying hard to come up with an answer to the tough questions. Jiang Wei looked over each question on this new sheet, obviously his question sheet was different than everyone's. However, though they were a bit tougher than the last, Jiang Wei didn't have much trouble answering them. He had seen the answers to most of these before, the rest he could see were trick questions, he picked that up right away. He even answered the bonus question as he realized he still had a little bit of time left. After it had all been answered he looked it over to make sure there were no spelling errors or wrong answers. No matter how much he knew he shouldn't stress so much about answering every single question correctly, in the back of his mind something wanted him, nay forced him to do his very best, if not better for his teacher. Jiang Wei had always been a perfectionist even as a child, he always received straight A's in every school he had been to, and now he wanted to have the same thing in this school, but for some reason, his new motivation was not for his own sake, but to impress Zhuge Liang.

_Why am I trying so hard for him? Being his apprentice would be nice… I suppose, but I feel there's another reason as to why I am trying so hard to impress him…_

"Time… Hand in your work sheets." Zhuge Liang's words pulled Jiang Wei out of his little train of thought.

The class handed in their papers, and sat back in their seats waiting patiently, some impatiently, for their teacher to finish looking them over.

As Zhuge Liang looked over each sheet, Jiang Wei felt a little impatient himself, trying hard not to fidget as he waited for him to give the class their next assignment.

Zhuge Liang looked over Jiang Wei's paper, a hint of curiosity on his face as if wanting to see if Jiang Wei was able to answer them all. After staring at the paper for quite some time, he placed it back in the pile and set them down. He rested his elbows on the desk, entwining his fingers together as he placed his face near his hands, eyes closed. It appeared as if he was making a final decision on something big.

_Did I fail…?_ Jiang Wei thought, _Did I overdo it? Did I forget to add something…?_

After what felt like an eternity to Jiang Wei, but had only been seven minutes, Zhuge Liang opened his eyes and stared into nothing for a moment before finally speaking.

"Jiang Wei… come here, please."

Jiang Wei felt a little nervous having to step up to him in front of the whole class, but he stood and walked up to Zhuge Liang trying hard to hide his uneasy feelings.

"Y…Yes sir?" He said, his voice just a tad shaky.

Zhuge Liang looked up at him before standing in front of him, and surprisingly enough to Jiang Wei, smiled gently at him.

"Jiang Wei." He said, his tone having a hint of hope in it, "Suppose I pass all of my knowledge unto you…"

Jiang Wei didn't mind if he succeeded Zhuge Liang or not, but at the same time he found it a great honour indeed to hear those words come from him, mostly, he simply felt it an honour just to be in his class. He wasn't the only one shocked however. The entire class stared eyes wide in amazement, questioning themselves as to what he did or didn't do to impress Zhuge Liang so.

"…It… It would be an honour, sir." Jiang Wei answered returning the smile.

Zhuge Liang nodded, "You may sit back down, Jiang Wei."

Jiang Wei did as he was told, sighing softly in relief as he sat back down.

_This only means I should push myself to the fullest if I want to meet his expectations, or if I am able to, exceed it… Master Zhuge Liang, I will not disappoint you._


End file.
